Hosea 1

Hosea 1 – Leader GuideDownload

Hosea 1 – Participant HandoutDownload

Lesson Focus:

God’s judgment on Israel does not mean that God has completely abandoned her. God won’t abandon us either.

Lesson Outcomes:

Through this lesson students should:

1. Develop a brief background to the Book of Hosea

2. Understand that God’s judgment is a result of covenant unfaithfulness on our part

3. Understand that in our sin we may feel abandoned by God but God is always working to bring us back to him.

Catching up on the story:

Hosea was one of the first recorded prophets, preceded only by Amos. Like Amos, Hosea spoke to the northern nation of Israel. Unlike Amos, Hosea’s tenure spanned a long time and saw many changes in kings. Hosea’s ministry began during the peaceful years of King Jeroboam II (786-746 BCE) and concluded sometime before Israel’s ultimate fall to Assyria in 722 BCE. While Hosea’s ministry began in relative peace and calm, the country quickly descended into chaos and war as Israel’s kings sought salvation apart from God.

Hosea also differs from Amos in that his message, while confronting the realities of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant she had entered into with God, is mixed with messages of hope and life. Even though God’s judgment seems all-consuming, for Israel it would not mean the ultimate end of their relationship with God. On the other side of judgment there is the possibility of renewed life with God.

Hosea will set the stage for many of the prophets that follow him. Hosea’s main concern is Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant God had made with them. As we discovered in our lessons on Amos, God’s judgment on Israel is not random, but set in the context of the blessings and curses that are laid out in Deuteronomy. Israel’s unfaithfulness has looked like a struggle with idolatry and corruptions within its political institutions, which have led to the vast mistreatment of people. While Israel’s covenantal unfaithfulness will bring about judgment, God’s continued covenant faithfulness will result in healing and hope for his people. These themes will be born out as we move through this wonderful book.

The Text:

We begin this prophetic book the same way that most prophetic books begin, with a superscription. The book of Hosea took its final shape at the hands of an editor who had collected and compiled Hosea’s writings and orations. The superscription is the community of faith’s way of designating this book as a definitive word from God. It is likely that Hosea was edited and finally compiled after the destruction of Israel by his followers in Judah in the south. For that reason we receive the names of the Kings of Judah first, even though Hosea’s book mentions northern cities and is written in a distinctly northern style.

We will notice, as we begin to examine the first verse, that we are told that what will follow is “The word of the Lord which came to Hosea…” The word of the Lord is something that “came” to Hosea, meaning that it was something more than what Hosea heard. Hosea experienced it as an event, not just a verbal communication (Birch, 18). Hosea will write down this word of the Lord in his own style and form, but it carries with it the force of God actively engaging the people with whom he is in covenant relationship.

The Unfaithful Wife: Hosea 1:2-9

The opening scene takes place over the course of a couple of years. God speaks to Hosea, who is the son of Beeri and now of marriageable age. Hosea is instructed to take for himself a wife, as the NRSV translates, of “whoredom.” A lot of attention has been given to the nature of the woman that Hosea is commanded to marry, even though the amount of information that the text actually gives us is rather sparse. Too often it has distracted from the main message of the section and book. The word that the NRSV translates as “whoredom” is a noun that simply means to engage in sex outside of the context of marriage. The related noun that specifically designates prostitution is never used to describe Hosea’s wife.

It is unlikely, then, based on the textual and grammatical evidence found in Hosea that Gomer is a prostitute. We can get a clearer picture of God’s command to Hosea by understanding the marriage in the context of a prophetic symbolic act. Symbolic acts were undertaken by prophets throughout the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah 8:1-4; 20:1-6; Jeremiah 13:1-11; 27:1-5. For these symbolic acts, the prophet was commanded to do something that would help illustrate for his hearers the message that God was trying to convey through the prophet. The marriage that Hosea enters into is not some kind of punishment on Hosea, but a way of depicting God’s relationship with Israel.

Later on in verse two we are told that Hosea is to take a wife of whoredom because “the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” Israel has been unfaithful in her covenantal relationship with God. To call Gomer a “woman of whoredom” is not to call her a prostitute but to label her as a person of unfaithfulness, just as Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant. Hosea’s marriage will mirror God’s covenant relationship with Israel. God chooses and enters into a relationship with Israel and Israel lives unfaithfully to God. God, as we will see with Hosea, does not completely reject his unfaithful partner, but continually welcomes her back.

Israel’s relationship with God, as well as Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, should have been characterized by loving faithfulness from both sides. Hosea’s marriage illustrates for us the nature of Israel’s (and our own!) unfaithfulness to the God who has called us and chosen us to live in covenant relationship with him.

Hosea is obedient and engages in this symbolic marriage. He marries Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim and they begin to have children. The first child is born and Hosea is instructed to name him Jezreel. The name itself is a pleasant one; it means “God plants” and refers to a beautiful and fertile valley in Israel. It had, however, taken on a more ominous meaning because of the events that had previously taken place there. 2 Kings 9-10 tell us the story of how Jehu overthrew the house of Omri and became king of Israel by killing the King there. It was also at Jezreel that Jehu had Jezebel, the widow of Ahab, thrown to dogs. Jehu’s dynasty, which lasted until the time of Hosea, becomes a symbol for religious idolatry and a quest for national power. “Hosea’s first child, named Jezreel, is to be a constant reminder that the reigning dynasty–from its first hours of its founding onward–is not in accordance with God’s will” (Wolff, 18). To name a child Jezreel would be a scandalous thing. It might be the same as naming a child today “World Trade Center or 9/11.”

A short time later Gomer conceives again and gives birth to a daughter. Once again, God tells Hosea what to name the child. The child’s name will be “Lo-ruhamah” which means “no pity” or “no compassion.” Pity and compassion are important words in the Old Testament. Compassion specifically is related to the Hebrew word for “womb.” This may suggest that God’s compassion for Israel is related to the all encompassing and nurturing feelings that a mother has for a child she has carried in her womb (Birch, 21). God will no longer express pity or compassion toward Israel as he has done in the past. God will no longer protect them from the consequences of their infidelity. God will, however, continue to express his compassion toward Judah in the south. He will reach out and save them, but not through the means that Israel will seek to save herself. God will not save Judah through the sword or the bow but by his strength alone.

More time passes and Gomer gives birth to another child, this time another son. His divinely ordained name will be “Lo-ammi” which means, “not my people.” This is an undoing of the covenant formula, “I will be your God and you will be my people,” of which we see variations in Deuteronomy 26:17; Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12 and 2 Samuel 7:24. The withdrawal of God’s compassion and pity from Israel can only lead to one place: abandonment as God’s people. To be sure, this abandonment will not be final and complete, but the time has come that God must give them up to their own desires and wishes. They have chosen the path that has led them to this place, and now they must go there alone. The covenant has been undone. The three names culminate to have chilling effect. Israel will have no kingdom, they will have no one to have pity or compassion on them, and they will have no relationship with God. The future is not bright.

Yet: Hosea 1:10-2:1

By the time we come to verse 10, the movement of the passage has been toward darkness and destruction. The “yet” at the beginning of the verse causes the whole trajectory of the chapter to change. Yet. It keeps in mind and takes seriously all that has been said or that has taken place but dares to move us to begin to see an alternate future and reality. “Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea…” This takes us back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis. Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, despite her wickedness, despite the fact that she will be destroyed, that God will remove his compassion from her, that God will count her as one who is not among his people, despite all that, God will turn and work for Israel’s life.

Hosea then begins to use the images evoked by the names of his children. God begins to reverse the future that is displayed in the children’s names. Judgment will happen, but they will one day, again be called God’s children. They will be “children of the living God.” The covenant will be renewed and restored and Israel will be a people again with Judah.

The section ends with a command to use the positive forms of the names of Hosea’s second two children. The NRSV translates the names as singular, but the original Hebrew is plural. At the end of the day, those in Israel will once again be a people who rest in the compassion and care of God. This command to say, “pity” and “my people,” brings hope and a future to the people who experience God’s judgment.

So What?

While the message of Hosea is sprinkled with more hope than that of Amos, the reality of God’s judgment is still plain to see. The simple fact is that Israel was to live in covenant faithfulness to God. They were to uphold, in faithfulness, their end of the deal. For far too long, Israel had not held up her end of the deal. She had served other gods. She had failed to exercise justice for the poor, oppressed and marginalized. The metaphor that Hosea uses is that of an unfaithful spouse. Unfaithfulness always caries with it consequences, even when the offended party chooses to forgive. Israel’s destiny is clear. Her unfaithfulness will lead to her destruction, the withdrawal of God’s compassion from her and her abandonment as God’s people.

Yet, God’s judgment on Israel does not mean that God has completely abandoned her. God’s faithfulness to Israel despite her infidelity will be on display constantly throughout the book. For you and I though, Hosea’s message speaks clearly to us, too. We are in covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The constant temptation will be to live in unfaithful ways toward God. The consequences of our infidelity will not be pleasant and, at times, it will feel like God has withdrawn from us and we are no longer his people. But that is not the end. Even though we may suffer from the consequences of our unfaithfulness and sin, God is actively working to draw us back to himself, seeking to lavish his compassion upon us and to call us his people.

Critical Discussion Questions:

1. What does God look like in this text/Who is God in this text/What is God doing in this text?

2. God in this text looks like the ever-faithful spouse, who remains absolutely committed to the covenant. We, in comparison, are like Gomer. In a very real and clear way, God is depicting for us the kind of partner we have historically been. As we read this passage we must identify ourselves, not with Hosea, but with Gomer the unfaithful wife. Our continued unfaithfulness leads God no choice but to abandon us for a time.

3. The hope is that the “yet” of verse 10 rings true for us. We may be unfaithful, but God is working to change the trajectory of the entire story so that we might once again become the children of the living God.

4. How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?

5. This passage asks us to identify ourselves in the story. We can either be Hosea, who is called to proclaim God’s word faithfully, or we are Israel, who is symbolized by Gomer the unfaithful wife. If we find that we are Israel and Gomer, if we find that we are in the midst of God’s judgement, then we have hope because God will not completely give up on us. God will continually draw us back to him so that we may once again become the children of the living God.

Specific Discussion Questions:

Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly. Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.

1. Why would God call Hosea to marry a wife of “whoredom?”

2. What kind of woman do you think Gomer was?

3. See 2 Kings 9-10. What is the significance of the name Jezreel? What happened there that might give the name meaning?

4. What is the significance of the name Lo-ruhamah? How might a lack of pity or compassion on God’s part toward Israel be bad news?

5. What is the significance of the name Lo-ammi?

6. In Hosea 1:10-2:1, the tone of the passage changes considerably. Even though it seems like God is abandoning Israel because of her unfaithfulness, what is God’s intention? How might we find comfort in these verses when we find ourselves being overrun by the consequences of our own unfaithfulness?

7. Have you ever felt as if God did not have compassion or pity on you? Have you ever felt as if you have not been one of God’s children?

8. How does the example of God’s faithfulness challenge you in your relationships with others?

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Works Cited

Bruce C. Birch, Hosea, Joel, and Amos, ed. Patrick D. Miller and David L. Bartlett, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997).

Hans Walter Wolff, Hosea: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Hosea, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973).